Check 5: Potty Books

My 18-month-old boy has been ‘poop aware’ for at least three months. Since I noticed he was telling me ‘poo poo’ even before he did the deed, I figured it was time to start toilet training.

Mistakenly, I tried to sit Jed on the big loo (with child seat attached). Cue screams of terror as if I was about to feed him to the toilet monster.

So we dug out Ezra’s old potty from the attic but so far it’s a no-go zone for Jed. Once the pull-ups are down, it seems he’d rather poo in the bath or on the floor than perch on plastic.

There’s no rush, really. After all Ezra didn’t do his first potty visit until he’d turned 2 and he was 2 and 9 months before his daytime nappy was off for good (night-time nappies are a different story!).

Still, it’s worth getting him used to the idea so the other day at the bookshop, I picked out five different books about potty training. We only left with one (Jed couldn’t put it down), but here are quick reviews of all five:

1. Boy’s Potty Time (Dk)
This is a fab book filled with photos of real boys doing their potty thang, a reward chart with stickers and a lift-the-lid potty cover that makes Jed laugh when I sit on it. Hopefully it will encourage him to start sitting on the real one soon. Needless to say, we bought this one. There’s also a version for girls.

2. Dora’s Potty Book (Simon & Schuster Children’s)
If he or she’s a fan of Dora the Explorer, then this should do the trick. It comes with its own sound effects although I did get tired of Jed pushing the ‘flush’ over and over again. They should really have called it ‘Dora’s Toilet Book’ as there are no actual potties in sight.

3. Pirate Pete’s Potty (Ladybird)
This is a sweet book that deals with becoming nappy-free and having the occasional accident in a fun and frank way. Jed seemed to like the Pirate Pete character and there’s a Princess edition to appeal to girls.

4. Little Princess – I Want My Potty! (Harper Collins)
She’s a bit of a madam but a funny one too and thanks to Tony Ross’s witty text and illustrations this is entertaining and practical for even a non-reader like Jed to flick through.

5. On Your Potty (Walker Books)
We’re big fans of Bartholomew bear in our house, as Ezra already owns the book Eat Your Dinner also by Virginia Miller. Ba says ‘Nah’ to the potty, just like Jed, until he eventually learns to use it ….just in time.